1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the apparatus for permanently disposing of high and low-level nuclear waste in subduction faults in oceans.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the primary problems associated with the generation of electrical power via nuclear fusion is the disposal of radioactive waste. Uranium-fueled, light-water reactors, which are commonly used in the U.S., produce plutonium 239 as one of the waste byproducts. Not only is plutonium 239 extremely poisonous, it has a half-life of 24,400 years. That means that this element would be dangerous to man for about a quarter of a million years.
Retrieval of high-level nuclear waste by terrorists is another potentially grave problem. Sophisticated terrorists may separate the plutonium from the waste in order to build thermonuclear weapons. Less sophisticated terrorists may simply use the high-level waste to build a dirty conventional bomb.
Proposals for disposing of nuclear waste have included embedding the waste in a plastic binder and burying it, storing it above and below ground in special canisters and/or vaults, and encasing the material in a leakproof material and dropping it to the ocean floor. It has even been proposed that high-level nuclear waste be loaded aboard rockets and sent into outer space.
None of these proposals provide safe permanent storage of the radioactive material. Nor are terrorists prevented from retrieving stored material. Any conventional disposal site will require round-the-clock security. What is needed is a disposal method and equipment that is both safe and permanent and, due to the nature of the process, will not require any further security once the waste has been packaged and placed.